4. Sunlight

(Mikhail POV)

After living by the moroi nocturnal schedule through the week (sleeping in the day and working at night) I made an effort to wake up a bit earlier on the weekends to recharge, both mentally and physically, with a proper dose of Vitamin D. Most of the teachers and students were out of bed by 6:00pm so I set my alarm for four and made my way to the large running field that lay immediately south of the main campus.

Throwing my jacket on the grass next to my water bottle, I soaked up the feeling of the sun on my skin while launching out into a deep hamstring stretch, feeling my muscles resist as I pressed a little deeper. Clearly the combat class I led last night took more out of me than I'd realised. I decided to start my warm-up lap at an easy jog before gradually picking up the pace to a run.

It was such a relief to let my mind relax while my body did all the work. Being a guardian was a high-stress job even when there were no strigoi threats to consider. In order to protect our moroi charges we needed to be vigilant at all times, alert to subtle changes in people's behaviour or the environment around us that might turn into trouble. It could be as simple as a young moroi lord taking liberties when he'd had a few drinks, or a non-royal making political statements that offended the wrong person. There were threats in the outside world too. Humans could be unpredictable when under the influence of drugs or alcohol, attacking bystanders without provocation or driving dangerously with no care about how their actions might affect others on the road. And there were even your run-of-the-mill criminals to avoid – muggers, opportunists, con-artists – you name it, it was our job to protect against it.

I consciously put the stresses of the job aside and focused on my breathing. Gradually my mind slowed down as my body took over, leaving me in a world of pure sensation. I concentrated on the dull rhythmic beating of my footfalls on the grass, the slight tightness in my chest, the feeling of my muscles gradually warming up and my joints loosening until all the parts of me were working as a cohesive whole. By the end of my run I felt physically tired but, at the same time, awake and alive.

Jogging over to grab a quick drink, I tied my jacket around my waist and glanced down at my watch. There was still an hour or so before the rest of the school awoke. My eyes wandered over to the wooded tree-line that marked the southern border of the school – I usually did my warm-down routine on the outskirts of the forest but something made me hesitate today. The sun was low on the horizon by now and the trees sent long shadows across the grass, making the normally peaceful place seem eerie and unwelcoming. I'd always trusted my instincts and today was no different. Turning back towards the school, I scanned the buildings and grounds searching for a suitable place to wind-down.

From my vantage point on the lowest field, St. Vladimir's Academy looked more like a gothic castle than a school. The regal old buildings were bathed in the late afternoon sun, their windows reflecting the deepening blue of the sky and the long, sweeping streaks of gold that arced up from the western horizon.

The main school building wrapped around a wide, grassy quad, and spread out behind that were various administration buildings, classrooms, student and staff accommodation, and the guardian training complex. Off to the right I could see the chapel and medical centre, flanked by one of four guardian security stations. A network of narrow, cobblestoned roads snaked around the buildings before leading on towards the elementary campus in the distance, and the whole academy was surrounded by a patchwork of well-manicured fields used for various school activities, mostly training grounds for the novice guardians. Finally, on the school's eastern boundary was a small lake partly screened from view by a sprawling formal garden. Perfect, I thought to myself and set off towards the water at a jog.

As I neared the edge of the gardens I slowed to a walk, taking in the beautiful surroundings. I'd only been in this part of the school grounds once or twice before and that was when I was on patrol duty so my focus had been strictly on Guardian business not pleasure. Rows of pale camellias and roses contrasted with the deep green lavender bushes that bordered many of the garden beds. An aisle of ornamental cherry blossom trees led towards the centre of the garden, some with memorial plaques set in the ground beneath them. In the heart of it all was a paved courtyard hidden from the rest of the garden by tall trellises thickly covered in climbing vines. Willow boughs bent gracefully near the edge of the lake and lilies grew in the shallows, providing a playground for the dragonflies and tiny birds that flitted about over the water.

This quiet paradise was essentially a forgotten corner of the school and, as far as I knew, it hadn't been used for a long time (except perhaps by students sneaking off for a secret rendezvous). It was a shame really that such a beautiful place had been neglected but, for the moment, the privacy suited my purpose.

I removed the jacket that was knotted around my waist and placed it on a garden bench that faced the lake, feeling the soft rays of sunshine pierce through the light fabric of my sleeveless running tank, taking the edge off the cool afternoon breeze.

Closing my eyes, I breathed deeply and stepped out into the first position, raising my arms in front of me and bringing them around to the left in a smooth, sweeping motion. One of the most important things my guardian training had taught me was that a healthy mind was as important as a strong body, and we practiced mental awareness and control through a martial art called Zabóta, which had been adapted specifically for guardians. This was one of my favourite times of day - letting go of hidden tensions and allowing my body and mind to work together in perfect balance.

But when I reopened my eyes with the next breath I noticed a tiny flash of movement out of the corner of my eye and suddenly the peaceful moment was over. I turned my head quickly as a rush of adrenaline spiked through my body, spotting a figure retreating deeper into the gardens.

'Hey,' I called out, my voice shattering the silence. 'Who are you? What are you doing out here?'

It couldn't be a strigoi – even this fading daylight would be too much for them, and there is no way they could have gotten through the wards that protected the school. If it was a student they needed to return to their dorm, and if it was an intruder I had to make sure they were apprehended and questioned. The safety of our students and staff was imperative.

I set out in pursuit, moving quickly between the trees and shrubs. I was getting closer, closer... Suddenly, the sound of footsteps ahead of me ceased and I paused a moment to listen. The person must have given up or found somewhere to hide. I rounded the corner in a rush then stopped in my tracks.

A hooded figure was hiding in the shadow of a willow, and by the outline of the hips and torso I could tell it was a woman.

'Step out from there and remove your hood,' I commanded, still unable to identify the stranger.

The woman took a hesitant step forward and slipped the hood from her face, raising a hand as if to shield her eyes from the sun.

In a matter of seconds I was in front of her. I grabbed her arm firmly and then stopped as I recognised the face in front of me.

'Miss Karp? What are you doing outside?' I asked in surprise, releasing her arm. 'It's still daytime. You'll hurt yourself.' I could see that her cheeks were flushed, as though she was ill, and her skin had a strange brittle quality to it. I knew the moroi teacher wouldn't die from this amount of sun exposure, but she must be in extreme discomfort and I couldn't bear the thought of her suffering.

I thought she wasn't going to answer me then she finally spoke up. 'I'm okay if I stay in the shadows. I just couldn't sleep.'

'Quickly. Come out of the sun,' I urged her, and she followed without hesitation as I drew her back into the shelter of the tree.

'Wait here,' I commanded, jogging back to the seat where I'd left my jacket and water bottle. I was back with her in less than a minute, unzipping my jacket and spreading it out on the ground like a picnic rug. When I indicated for her to sit I could see the obvious hesitation on her face, as though she was considering running away, then at the last moment she relented and sank to the ground, drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them protectively.

'Please have some water, Miss Karp,' I coaxed her gently, kneeling to offer her my bottle. 'You may have shielded most of your skin but the sunlight has still affected you. You look exhausted.' It was a horrible thing to tell any woman, but right now I was more concerned about her safety than improving my chances of making a good impression.

Again she hesitated then gave in, keeping her eyes fixed on me while she drank, perhaps making sure I wasn't going to use her moment of weakness as an opportunity to attack her. She was like an injured animal; silently crying out for help but prepared to flee at any second. After a few sips of water the moroi seemed a little better and appeared to relax, only flinching slightly when I sat down beside her. Under different circumstances this might have been romantic - sitting here together against the backdrop of a beautiful, secluded garden, far from the bustle of our professional lives - but now wasn't the right time to be indulging in fantasies. I had to make sure my colleague was okay.

'So why couldn't you sleep?' I asked carefully, hoping she might open up to me. For weeks now we had been steadily building a connection; small glances and smiles, the occasional word in private. Maybe today she would finally trust me and let me see who she really was.

She warred silently within herself before answering. 'I had…,' she hesitated, glancing up at my face before quickly looking down at her hands. '...I had a nightmare.'

I felt instantly relieved. I could think of several reasons why a moroi might want to take a walk in the sun, all of them much worse than this.

'It must have been a bad one,' I sympathized, 'to risk your beautiful skin.' I reached a hand out carefully, shifting her hair back to examine her face. The parched look was already fading and her cheeks suddenly flushed with a more natural shade of pink. She was a beautiful woman, but so fragile.

I felt the urge to trace the curve of her cheek with my thumb but I knew that would only scare her away. Instead, I contented myself by tracing the soft outlines of her face with my eyes; taking in her elegant cheekbones, the thin brows that knotted together over deep blue eyes, the faint shadow of tiredness that haunted her features, the rosy plumpness of her lips, the slight dimple in her chin. I committed them all to memory as I waited for her to speak.

The sad angel beside me looked off into the distance as her mind travelled back to the disturbing images of sleep. 'It was horrible,' she whispered to herself with a shudder, before resurfacing from the memory and looking me straight in the eyes. 'But I'm awake now and dreams can't hurt you when you're awake.'

Without any warning she stood up in one fluid motion, pausing to look down at me from above. 'Thank you for checking I was alright,' she said with an apologetic smile and turned to leave.

'Miss Karp,' I called out after her, not exactly sure what to say but desperate to give her some kind of reassurance, to remind her she could trust me. She stopped mid-step and turned her head slightly so I could see the profile of her face.

'I'm going to church later. I often find it calming when I'm feeling busy or stressed. Perhaps you might find some peace there too?'

She hesitated a moment longer then pulled the hood up over her head and left without a word of reply.

I sat there for another ten minutes, puzzling over the encounter. Eventually I gave up, realising I only had half an hour before the church service began. Sonya Karp was a mystery that would have to be solved another day.

Author's Note:

I'm a very visual person and it helped to have a clear layout of the school when writing the story. I found a cool map on Pinterest, and also borrowed the idea of a lakeside garden from a scene in Gigi256's Frostbite DPOV (where Dimitri sits on a bench overlooking a pond & cemetery after the death of Mason Ashford).